Quick Take: In China, Quadricycles May Not Be Same as Motorcycles

In China, “low-speed electric vehicles” may not be classified as motorcycles and regulated in the same way, going against the wishes of manufacturers.

The Chinese regulator is still deciding how to classify quadricycles. They run solely on electricity and can reach a maximum speed of 70 kilometers per hour with engines much less powerful than that of an automobile. Resembling small cars or buggies, they are inexpensive alternatives to cars and have very strong sales especially in third- and fourth-tier cities.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Wednesday that low-speed electric vehicles belong to a special category of electric cars. The ultimate national standards should take account of their technical characteristics and safety concerns, the ministry said. That suggests the country may be mulling a new standard for these quadricycles, and not copying them wholesale from the system that regulates motorcycles.

In March, a group of industry executives jointly petitioned the ministry, trying to lobby the government to regulate low-speed electric vehicles in the same way it does motorcycles. This is because the stringent licensing procedures and manufacturing requirements imposed on cars would wipe out all but a handful of quadricycle makers, which are often small workshops.

The government first said it was working on standards for low-speed electric vehicles as early as October 2016.

Contact reporter Aries Poon (ariespoon@caixin.com)